Page 303 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

THE GUIDE TO MALAYSIA 295
Malaysia’s dressage team that took Asian Games bronze at Guangzhou in 2010, L-R: Putri Alia Soraya, Diani Lee, Quzandria Nur and Qabil Ambak.
Starting at the World Endurance Championships in 1998, he went on to become the world’s top- ranked Endurance rider in 2001. It was a phenomenal feat that earned even a royal following.
Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu has competed internationally. In 2008, Malaysia staged the FEI World Endurance Championship at the Terengganu International Endurance Park, where HRH competed as part of the Malaysian team.
It followed the 2006 FEI World Cup Jumping Final held at Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, and the CSI 5* KL Grand Prix series of international horse shows staged by Peter Winton and Wan Zaleha Radzi.
These international horse shows laid the foundation that brought Malaysia to the very top of Southeast Asian equestrian sport. The summit was reached when Malaysia swept every equestrian gold medal at the 2017 SEA Games.
Husref Jeremiah was a pioneer eventer who went from silver at the 1995 SEA Games, to bronze at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. Another eventer, Johari Lee, a silver medalist at the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand is now the Chief Riding Instructor of Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort.
Malaysia has always enjoyed success in the
Games dressage gold medal in 2017, World Cup Jumper Nabil Ismail, SEA Games Jumper Ahmad Imtaz, and Asian Games Eventer Amir Zulkifle.
Horse-culture is especially obvious in the states of Kelantan and Sabah, where the people have a special affinity with horses. They breed and race ponies
in picnic races and more
formally in the FEI sport of Endurance. Competing on ponies from a young age, many of the children from these states have gone
on to make their names as national riders, even branching out to become jockeys, polo players and instructors.
Dato’ ‘Awang’ Kamaruddin Abdul Ghani popularized Endurance in Malaysia.
The first CSI 5 Star KL Grand Prix in 2003. Then Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad congratulates winner Khaled Al Eid from Saudi Arabia as event organizers Peter Imran Winton and Wan Zaleha Radzi look on.